(Wondering where “Digression 3” is? Watch it here).
I may dislike Valentine’s Day, but it won’t stop me from doing a karaoke video to celebrate it! Not only to do you get to hear me sing (badly), I posted the lyrics so you can sing along.
I chose the cover of Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel” recorded by the Mega Man tribute band, The Megas. Why? First, it’s an ’80s song (I love that decade). Second, it was covered by The Megas, one of my favorite bands. Third, I’ve yet to hear a song that so perfectly expresses my own longing to one day find a special girl.
Special thanks to:
Real Life, for originally recording the song
The Megas, for this amazing and nerdy cover
Jarod Marchand, for making a cameo
Sergio Garza, for providing the microphone prop
Rurouni Kenshin is a popular manga (Japanese comic book) written and drawn by Nobuhiro Watskui in the mid 1990s. It spawned two equally popular anime TV series, a theatrical anime film, two animated OVA films, and most recently a live-action film produced by Warner Bros. (which has yet to receive a wide release in America, unfortunately).
(Note: This blog will focus on the original manga. The adaptations are different. For one thing, the manga has a happier ending).
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Set in 19th century Japan 10 years after the Meiji Revolution, the titular character, Kenshin Himura, is a young swordsman with cross-shaped scar on his face who has been wandering Japan (rurouni is the Japanese word for “wanderer”) since the war’s end, righting any wrongs he finds as atonement for the atrocities he committed. He has sworn never to kill again and carries a sakabatou (reverse-blade sword) that allows him to fight without killing anyone. He goes to Tokyo and meets Kaoru Kamiya, a young woman running her deceased father’s kendo dojo, and decides to stop wandering. As time passes, he meets several other “rough” characters he helps reform and battles several powerful villains.
A subtitle for the series is Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, which describes it very well. The series’ theme is redemption, but its heart is the romance between Kenshin and Kaoru. In true Japanese fashion, it is an understated and subtle romance—at first. Kaoru begins to fall for Kenshin after a few adventures, but Kenshin never seems to reciprocate. He treats her with respect as a friend, always calling her “Kaoru-dono” (a formal Japanese honorific title usually translated as “Ms. Kaoru”). Several times Kaoru has to pull Kenshin from the brink when he slips into the violent ways of Battousai, his dark and violent self from the war. She gives him a home when he was wanderer.
Until one night when, surrounded by fireflies, Kenshin comes to her—and only her—and says he must leave to go fight a deadly enemy in Kyoto. She is the only one he says goodbye to. There’s no farewell kiss, no sappy sweet nothings. Kenshin simply thanks her for everything she’s done for him and hugs her. It’s a powerful scene, one that I’m man enough to admit nearly made me cry when I watched it on the anime. (You can watch it here).
Kaoru at first wallows in her sorrow, but her friends chastise her and say that if she cares about him so much, she should go after him. She does. She catches up to Kenshin before he battles his nemesis. Her love helps strengthen Kenshin in the ensuing battle. But she learns afterward that Kenshin’s body has been so badly battered over the years that another severe injury may kill him.
In the manga’s final storyline (which the anime excludes), Kaoru is captured by Enishi, a psychotic young man, with a grudge against Kenshin. She learns from him that during the war, Kenshin married a woman named Tomoe, who died tragically at his hands. That’s why he was closed off, why he refused to reciprocate Kaoru’s love: he didn’t want to lose someone like that again. Enishi says he is Tomoe’s brother and will avenge his sister’s death.
Kenshin is pushed to his physical, mental, and emotional limits. Enishi fakes Kaoru’s death. When Kenshin finds her purported corpse, he yells her name without adding “-dono” for the first time. Kenshin is overcome with despair, during which he sees Tomoe in his dreams. She is smiling because she says Kenshin has learned to smile. She tells him to save her brother, who is still stuck in the past, and rescue Kaoru, who wants and needs his smile most. Kenshin awakes and goes to confront not only Enishi but the demons from his past. He defeats the young man and spares his life.
Finally, Kenshin and Kaoru get married and have a son named Kenji.
This is a romance full of longsuffering, patience, acceptance, and forgiveness. Kaoru loves Kenshin despite his violent and dark past. Kenshin learns to open up and love again. Kaoru gives Kenshin the wanderer a home. They complement each other perfectly. Kenshin’s calm demeanor is great counterbalance to Kaoru’s feistiness and Kaoru’s goodness pulls Kenshin from his inner darkness.
This also shows that a romance can be subtle. Often love stories are sappy and overdone, but this one is so understated that the reader has to connect the dots. I can’t recall either of them ever saying “I love you” to each other, yet the reader knows they do. It truly is an example of “less is more.”
Their romance blossomed slowly, often in dark times. Both Kenshin and Kaoru made sacrifices for what they thought was the good of the other. It was never easy for them until the end.
I neglected to mention that both the manga and original anime (I haven’t seen the new one yet) are also quite funny. In fact, I’d even go so far as to classify them as romantic comedies at points.
I could go on for hours about their story. This was one of the first romances I truly loved. As fantastical as the series was, their love felt real and authentic. Many romances in mangas/animes tend to go (for lack of a better term) unconsummated: the couple never gets together. It was refreshing to see a happy ending for a change.
Mark it on your calendars, True Believers, because I’m about to admit publicly that I like a chick flick.
(gasp!)
I originally thought about using The Princess Bride (one of my favorite films) as an example of a “chick flick” I like, but then I realized it was equal parts “chick flick” and “guy movie.” So, I would classify it a romantic fantasy/adventure/comedy. (The movie defies classification, but I digress).
With that said, I opted for The Lake House, a 2006 romance film starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. The movie was disliked by critics, and unfairly so. They criticized some internal inconsistencies with its plot, but let’s be honest: it’s hard to write a time-travel story that is completely airtight.
Yes, it involves time-travel. The fantastical element is one of the things that intrigued me about it. It tells the story of an architect and a doctor who live in the same house but two years apart, and how they fall in love by writing letters to each other through a time-warping mailbox.
(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!)
The first thing that strikes me about this story is how the couple never meets until late in the movie. Until then, their only interaction is through correspondence (lending credence to long-distance relationships). So, their relationship is at first free of physical lust (which is often confused for love in many “romantic” stories). They connect on a deep, personal level through their letters. They even find clever ways to interact, such as Alex (the architect) taking Kate (the doctor) on a time-delayed tour of Chicago with one of his letters (he even spray-paints an endearing message on a wall for her). They finally meet when Alex goes to a party Kate attended two years before—when she was with another man. He meets her, deeply in love with her, but she has no idea who he is, and he can’t tell her who he is.
They continue to write each other and decide to meet at restaurant on Valentine’s Day. Kate will only have to wait one day, but Alex will have to wait two years. Kate arrives, but Alex never shows. Heartbroken, she writes a letter to Alex saying not to write her anymore and recounts the story of how, one year prior, she witnessed a car accident and the driver, a young man, died in her arms. The two leave the lake house and go their separate ways.
One year later (2006 for Alex and 2008 for Kate), Alex returns to the house because something triggers his memory. Kate, meanwhile, is talking with another architect and learns that Alex had died two years earlier—that he was the man whose death she witnessed! That’s why he didn’t show up at the restaurant. She rushes back to the lake house and frantically writes him a letter saying she loves him and tells him to wait two years and meet her at the lake house instead. She stuffs it in the mailbox. Did he get it? The flag drops—he’d received it.
A vehicle pulls up. A man walks toward her. Alex! “You waited,” Kate says. Then, after four years, they finally kiss.
Despite what the critics say, this is a magnificent love story. The love is deep. How many people have the patience and commitment to wait four years to meet their true love after they “found” them? Four years! Think about that: they were so dedicated to each other, so patient, that they endured the pain of waiting to see each other for four full years! (Although, while noble, it pales by comparison to another couple I’ll be writing about later this week). Alex had to suffer seeing the woman he loved but she didn’t love him, at least not yet. He could’ve been selfish and tried to take her then, but it would’ve ruined everything. Kate had to watch Alex die and later be “stood up,” only to learn later what happened. These two wouldn’t let their circumstances keep them apart. As strange as everything was, they overcame every obstacle thrown at them. It wasn’t easy. True love never is. It must be tested. That’s how its authenticity can be proven.
So, there you have it: my favorite “chick flick.” It’d make a great date movie this Valentine’s Day. Go rent it now! Ah, heck, buy it!
NEXT TIME ON “TRUE ROMANCE”: A manga romance! (A “mangamance”?)
Yes, I’m speaking of Valentine’s Day. I’ve never liked this holiday, and for the obvious reason: I’ve never had a girlfriend during it (although, I’ve had several of them).
I could go into a long treatise about what the holiday really means, but that isn’t my purpose today. I’ve decided to use this coming week to talk about what I think makes up true romance, both in stories and in real life.. It’s not that I hate them (I’ve often been described as a “romantic”), I just can’t stand how poorly done many of them are. I won’t necessarily be writing about how to write these stories since, oddly enough, most of those techniques are present in good and bad romances (and I might possibly save it for an episode of my vlog).
My biggest gripe with romantic stories, especially modern ones, is they’re shallow or fake. Look at a typical romantic comedy movie. Two young, attractive people meet, think each other is hot, and then haphazardly try to get together, sleeping with each a few times along the way. The audience assumes these characters will live happily ever after.
It’s a lie. Or rather, a fantasy.
This rarely, if ever, works out in real life. Why? Because the love is only skin deep. The couples in these stories are riding on the emotional high of their “chemistry,” the gooey feelings they have for each other. Studies have shown these don’t last long. I guarantee you that even Rose and Jack from Titanic (the most overrated film of all time), had they both survived the sinking ship, probably wouldn’t have stayed together because they were running on temporary romantic feelings.
A related gripe I have is how unrealistically fast these relationships happen. Admittedly, this is a lesser problem, because it does happen quickly for some people in real life, and stories (especially movies) often necessitate the romances start quickly, so it’s easy to forgive. More often than not, though, it takes time to cultivate love. Then the love must stand the test of time. As I said, romantic feelings don’t last. The love must have deeper roots.
As a Christian, I’m familiar with koine Greek, one of the original languages the Bible was written in. This ancient language had at least three words for “love”: eros (sexual/physical love; from which we get the word “erotic”), phileo (friendship; the source of the name Philadelphia, which means “city of brotherly love”), and agape (unconditional love). All of these loves are legitimate and are necessary to make a lasting romance, but agape is what binds them together. This is a love not based on feelings. It is an act of the will. It is commitment. It requires a person to put the needs of whoever he loves above his own, even if he gets nothing out of it. It says, “No matter what happens, no matter what you do, even if you don’t deserve it, I will love you.”
This is the sort of love that requires suffering. That’s why many people give up on it: they don’t like to suffer. But if you love someone, you will stick by them through thick and thin. You’ll do whatever you have to for them. That’s why fairy tales resound with us. Men want to be the knight who slays the dragon and women want to be the maiden he rescues. Even The Princess Bride, as “cheesy” as it is,understands this! (And this is one reason why I think the romances I write tend to be born out of suffering).
People may say that sounds romantic, but I wonder if they would say that if they had to practice it. Many don’t. That’s why there’s a 50% divorce rate.
(I’ll stop talking like Dr. Phil now).
My point is this: romances should have more substance. They should be founded in something far deeper and much stronger and feelings. When I read or watch a romance, I want that couple to stay together forever. I want that fairy tale ending. I have to believe love can last forever. That’s why it grinds me to see such shallow romances passed off as the real thing. Maybe I’m jaded. Or maybe I understand this better than most.
Regardless, I promise you that if you ever hear me say I like a romantic story, you can bet its good.
I’ll be sharing a few of those stories the next few days. Starting with…a chick flick?!
I’m sad to report, True Believers, that episode nine of “But I Digress…” will be delayed a few days, maybe a week. It’s not that I don’t want to make videos anymore. I just have my hands in several projects right now that require my attention and energies (such as Children of the Wells and Hope’s War). I promise you’ll enjoy all this new stuff. Just bear with me.
My next vlog will be part two of “The Nine Basic Plots.” It will include a humorous recap of the first four discussed in part one.
On a related note, this has made me reconsider how often I post new videos. Balancing writing, a part-time job, a social life, and making videos (and possibly grad school sometime in the future) is a daunting task for anyone. Whatever I decide to do, I’ll be sure to let you know.
In other news, I am happy to report that I have acquired two more titles with the online publication Examiner.com. Before, I wrote only about C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia , but now I also write about Star Trek and superheroes. If you know me, you’ll know all of those are some of my favorite subjects. Please check out my pages and subscribe to them! You see them here: Narnia, Star Trek, Superheroes. (Please bear with me since I have yet to post an article for my superhero page as of the date of this blog).
A couple quick bits of news for you, True Believers.
First, I’ve unfortunately had to delay my next book signing. It will still be held at Next Chapter Bookseller in Warsaw, Indiana, but due to scheduling issues, it has been postponed until March 1. I promise I will be there, though.
In better news, I’ve discovered that my novel, Pandora’s Box, is now available on the Amazon Kindle! I don’t know when this happened (Hades Publications never informed me), but I’m very happy it is now an eBook. Click here to buy it.
(This video is a few days late, but I blame that on unruly technology).
Who would’ve thought a simple movie review could cause me such trouble in the future?
I was going to sit down and review “Ah-nold” Schwarzenegger’s new action flick, “The Last Stand,” only to be interrupted by the arrival of the T-800 Terminator! He says he’s here to protect me–but from what? Is “The Last Stand” a worthy return for everyone’s favorite Austrian-bodybuilder-turned-action-star-turned-governor-turned-action-star-again? These and other burning questions will be answered in this week’s episode!
I hate to break it to you, writers, but your plots can never be original. Your stories can be original, but there are only nine types of plots. What are those plots? I list the first four of them in this video. The other five will be discussed in a future. (Don’t worry, you won’t have to wait more than two episodes).
Be sure to wait through the credits for a surprise!
I was going to post a new “But I Digress…” today, but I spent too much time writing and now I haven’t the chance to post it. My apologies, True Believers! I’ll post it tomorrow. Better late than never, right?
My next episode isn’t quite finished, but I did have an idea for a spur-of-the-moment “Digression” video, so I hope this tides you over for now. However, it’s on a very serious topical issue: gun control. I don’t usually get political, but this was a point where my politics and creativity combined. I read an excerpt from my novel, “Pandora’s Box,” that illustrates my opinion on the matter.
My next vlog should be posted in a day or two.
(Sorry about the voices in the background. They’re people in the next room. I hope it’s not distracting).
A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe
